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The Ledgers of Baldr: 4E153
Actions Mu'lakka While relieved by the qualified success of the latter part of his trip, Rak'min is still moved by the war-torn scenes he passed through. He commissions the construction of an international war memorial. The massive project will include a great forest in honor of the fallen dragons with immense stone monuments to represent the fallen Ashik. The monuments will lead to a cave glittering with mithral-inlaid columns and plaques commemorating the losses of Stavengaran and DPF forces. (Culture 1, -30 gold) Admiral Le'Force insists that he needs more ships to command to be any sort of Admiral at all, and begins constructing more ships at the recently-built shipyard. (Navy 2) He also looks into the possibility of positioning large stationary crossbows on the bow of a ship, which could fire a large harpoon for heavy duty fishing or heavy bolts in the eventuality of a military encounter. (Navy tech 3) Restless settlers on the new colony seek out new lands to bring back riches, travelling eastward across the peninsula inland. (Expansion 4) Ashelani Having retired into Her own mind after the end of the battle for Stavengar, the Queen has abandoned Her foreign protoqueens, leaving an eternal place in their minds silent. Across the world, they panic, lost in an overwhelming tide of independence and thought. Yet some, in this moment, find a new clarity, and begin to to weigh their existences in relation to the hive. Deep beneath the leaf-littered surface of the Ashelani jungle, the Queen ponders what she must do. It has never come to pass that a creature entered the hive without Her consent, and their immunity to communication was another impossibility. These intruders were for all intents and purposes, unique. And so the Queen, thoughts flowing through a hundred dormant protoqueens resting below Her, began to formulate a plan. These creatures must not be destroyed, but studied. Harm would only come to them when harm was dealt. Until then, there must be a way for the true Ashelani to be known. Out of the darkest depths of the hive marched the proto-queens, empowered by a singular goal. They would find each Ashelani, wherever it worked, and marking them with a powerful pheromone. It would bond the sisters together, and state to warriors, Queen, and worm alike that these were the true Ashelani. Then, 157785 moon falls after Her mind was first opened to the world, the Queen began the destruction of the great network of tunnels Her people had dug. All that would remain is the worm system, by which all necessary transportation would be done. The worm would know the true from the fake, and they would be able to navigate the hive chambers without hindrance. All which the worm would not recognize would be sealed in Ashelani resin, and excreted to the great holding chamber for further research. (Culture x4 -60 wealth) Rhiam Reich Thanks to a very minor and not at all covered up Whiskey accident, it has become apparent to the scholars of the Reich that Whiskey, magic though it may be, is incredibly flammable. Dr. Franz Zimmerhof, a researcher at the University of Hammesberg is attempting to make this accident into a happy discovery. He is creating a man portable version of the pump systems that the peasants have used to pull water from wells for years. A three man team can use this pump to shoot whiskey from a projector and ignite it. One man holds the projector, one aims and fires, and another is responsible for safety and actually holding the precious liquid. It is thought that the flame this device projects can burn away even hunger. (1,2,3. MIL TECH Y'ALL) Emperor Helmuth Institutes a large number of reforms meant ot further unify the Reich. One of these is the "suggestion" that each duke spend at least two months a year at his palace in Hammesberg. This keeps the Dukes under his watchful eye, as well as improving bonds between the Dukes and their Emperor. (4, Culture) Kaz'ur With the death of both the crown prince and the king of Stavengar, the Ashik have seen fit to instill several governors to preside over the remains of the Senate of Stavengar, who will oversee the reconstruction of the now shattered nation. Their first act is to open several trade routes with Kaz'ur through the mountains, so that shipments of vital supplies might make their way into the dwarven lands to begin reparations. (1-2, Income). Back at home, the Salatim is overseeing a detachment of missionaries who will be travelling to Stavengar. They have been charged with opening a network of temples throughout Stavengar, to preach the word of the father and to offer assistance to the inhabitants of the nation. Each temple will be also serve the purpose of housing the soldiers who are currently stationed in Stavengar. (3-4, Culture). Now finding himself with even less to do, the warrior Faheem continues his work on the greatbows. In the aftermath of the battle, he has managed to collect an abundance of horns from the fallen war-goats of the paladins. (5, Military Tech). At home, the Shahadash decries that a special caravan will be formed, dedicated to travelling the world and trading with other nations, spreading the word of the father, and collecting information and artifacts to store within the Tower of Babel (6-7, Trade Tech). Lastly, the Sawmanji sends a rider back to the council with a request to begin construction of the, "Madrasa Jysh" a military academy to train the leaders of the Ashik military. (8, Military Tech). Hall of the Five After disconnecting from the Merk'zat Summit, Kellus takes another sip of his wine. "Mugh, how fast can our forces capture the Ignati homeland?" "mmmUUUUuugh", Mugh answers. Kellus isnt the least bit worried about defeat in Ignati territory. Kellus sends a horde of shrine titans to settle the no-mans land between the Ignati and Fivedom borders. (1) Death is more prudent, and orders Gojac to raise another army of firebears, just in case. (2) Garma and Rucahn build a fleet of ice-rafts to deal with the pesky dragons parked on the northwest coast. (3&4) Ignati At night, high above the ground in the heart of the Great Forest, a mighty red oak rocks in a gale. Through the dark wet boughs, a faint light flickers. A small fire burns near the topmost branches, guttering in the wind and rain. Again and again the elements threaten to snuff it out, but every time the fire springs stubbornly back to life. Huddled around the ruddy light, Chimeryx and his commanders are waiting out the storm. Finally ready to break the silence, Chimeryx says, "Spread far and wide, to every far-flung village and hunting lodge, and every tribe. Gather every able-bodied dragon-man you can find, and every -woman too, if they're willing to serve. Arm them as best you can, and tech them to defend to forest. I'll do my best to give you all the weapons and provisions you need. Now go! leave no hill or valley unexplored. The tribes of Ignis depend on it!" (Defensive Armies x4) Gold Spent Results: The Mu’lakka Lands: 10, 13, 20, 17 The memorial to the war has stalled in development. Your people are skeptical of the memorial—and the sentiment in your country is that the war is an abominable overseas development that needs no memorializing, especially since the Mu’lakkans themselves have suffered no casualties (-30 wealth). However, the famed shipyard manages to manufacture another navy in sufficient time, and a second fleet of ships is now moored in the main harbor, manned by newly assembled crews of brave sailors (-10 income). Each boat, of course, has seven of the new ironwood ballistas mounted on the deck, which are incredibly lightweight and can be folded and stowed away in case of a storm. Each of the great timber bolts is capable of cracking the hulls of the sturdiest ships and the toughest nautilus hide (+4 to naval rolls). Finally, the expansion push yields more grapes, as well as large fanged lizards that live in underground burrows and, it is determined, can be domesticated for labor—as they seem to be more hardy than the oxen your people currently use (+6 income, -10 wealth). The Ashelani Dominion: 7, 19, 17, 16 The Queen’s newly developed pheromones easily distinguish the pseudo-Ashelani from their brethren, and the entire subspecies is effectively rounded up in a matter of months. They appear to be an Ashelani-carcino hybrid of some sort, bred for night fighting and deep tunnel warfare—a project that your species had been developing during the early stages of the Stinheim conflict, when the war had not yet moved above ground. The new invasive species has been subjugated under the hive mind (revolution failed, +4 culture, -60 wealth). Rhiam Reich: 18, 3, 10, 8 The whiskey pumps seem to effectively clear away Hunger, albeit slowly, but they are far too unwieldy for three men alone to operate, and the wild gyration of the pneumatic hose, or as Dr. Zimmerhof calls it, the “whiskey tube,” makes it incredibly difficult to move while it shoots, or rather, spews, fire (2 more successes needed). Emperor Helmuth has only received three dukes at the royal palace since issuing his edict, and there is an unspoken sense that the new monarch’s authority is not respected among the established aristocracy. Several condescending letters have been sent to the palace, as well as a few bold ones, accusing Helmuth as a tyrant who has seized the reins of power. Kaz’ur: 4, 20, 10, 10, 1, 13, 20, 13 Your special caravans, some headed by missionaries, others headed by ex-mercenaries, make their way back and forth between the Emerald Vale and the dwarfen mountains to the south, increasing the income of both of your nations by a significant amount (+7 income to Kaz’ur and Stavengar). For many dwarfs, this wealth is the first luxury they have known after years of hardship and war. The people of Stavengar, though are highly resistant to the new religion on their lands, and many see the Great Father as a foreign superstition. Even the DPF freedom fighters up north are loathe to relinquish their traditional dwarfen pantheon and worship a single god. Faheem’s initiative to make greatbows from inflexible goat horns is such a waste of time and money that your leaders have been swayed against further military research (next roll to research military tech succeeds only on a 17 or higher). Your special caravan, collecting cultural relics from around the continent, makes huge headway (+2 income to all overland trades). The academy, though, fails. The Halls of the Five: 19, 16, 2, 12 A new shrine is erected by the scattered remnants of the Ignati rebels, who have fled to your quiet lands after their insurrection was thoroughly crushed. They soar above the twisting black spires of solid obsidian that mark this segment of ash waste, singing prayers of lament for their fallen brothers (+7 expansion). The black mechanized warrior from a distant planet spots them occasionally on the horizon. He has been told he must not harm them, but he kills a few anyway, hurling his spear hundreds of feet in the air to spear one or two of them from the sky. If there’s one thing worse than a skink, the robot thinks, it’s a skink with wings. Yet another army is raised (-10 income), as well as a navy. Massive, unmanned icebergs now float in your bay, their sides sharp enough to tear through ships, but the Ignati navy, it seems, has fled for foreign shores (-10 income). Battles The Stand of the East Hall 90, Ignati 120 Qol watches from atop his flaming deer as the lines of the Five assualt the great timber fort a second time, towering shrine titans crashing into the suspended bridges and smashing them with their stonework clubs. The assault isn't going as well as he had hoped. Ahead, he can see the black Cordish steamknight leading undead Ignati through the entryway of the fort, his ranks hit left and right by thunderbolts. The Destroyer glides toward him, and Qol nods respectfully as the ageless being morphs into a raven and perches on his shoulder. "I have somewhere to be," the bird says. Qol is flabbergasted. "What, now? Of all times!? We need you out there--we're not going to win without you." Death's reply is nonchalant. "I have business way out in Ardunne that needs to be attended to. Something quite terrible has happened that requires my oversight." Qol tries his best to retain his composure. "Terrible, you say?" "Yes, well, depending on your point of view," the raven replies. Despite himself, Qol is interested. "What do you mean by that?" he asks, pausing to launch a fireball from his hands at two Ignati spearmen, who plummet to the earth in flames. The raven is silent for a moment, but then it speaks: "It seems as though someone has gotten it into their head that they're going to start the end of the world." Without another word, it flies off into the eastern sky, leaving Qol to survey the battle alone once again. He curses. Lines of firebears are being dropped by cracks of lighting left and right. He rears up his horse and points to a rotting Ignati corpse, held upright by dark magic. "Go into the field and tell my brother to sound the retreat. This battle is not ours." As he speaks, a shrine titan tumbles to the ground, crushing yet another brood of firebears underneath it. Category:The Ledgers of Baldr